Tag Archives: Hawaii

The last (for now!) blogpost of our Hawaiian adventures is about a pretty but also somewhat uncanny rainforest on Puna side of the Big Island that we explored using Ka-hau-a-Le’a trail, which is no longer recommended for visits by authorities and is officially closed. However, it is definitely among the most interesting hikes that I’ve done in my life thanks to a combination of several factors. The guidebook ‘Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed‘ was our inspiration again.

The day was rainy but very warm, appropriately for a tropical rainforest and that part of the island of Hawaii particularly, so the most appropriate attire was just our bare skin – you know it’s my favorite one anyways!

So, I kept my clothes (i.e., only shorts on that day) dry in the backpack for later 🙂

Given that the trail is formally closed and conditions were muddy, we didn’t expect to see many hikers (and we…

The painting in our room set our mood for another naturist adventure 🙂

As we arrived late in the evening, we were welcomed by a chorus of coquí frogs.

It’s an invasive species introduced from Puerto Rico, but I loved the ambient sound they provided (and to their defense, they haven’t really brought any harm to local ecology as far as I know). I managed to track down one of coquí frogs near the pool, which was impossible according to Tod – not if you’re a zoologist like me 😀

After that, we relaxed in the sauna, and then Tod did a Watsu session for me (“a form of aquatic bodywork used for deep relaxation and passive aquatic therapy… in which a practitioner gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a…

Hope you didn’t think that my story about the Big Island, Hawaii, ended
at the beach next to Kona airport
😉 The island is indeed big and very diverse. Even this beach at Kona side of the island looked totally different from Makalawena. It’s a cozy cove with yellow sand surrounded by black rocks and trees.

After Maui, I headed to the island of Hawaii aka Big Island. It was a real pleasure to see my first destination on the island – a beautiful secluded beach called Makalawena – from the airplane upon approach to Kona airport. It came highly recommended by two friends, and my guidebook (‘Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed‘) said that it was “the choicest beach on the island [to many who]… don’t mind walking to it”.

It looked very pretty from the air, with its clear turquoise water, white sand and coconut palm-trees… but I could also see a pretty long road and trails going through black lava field that lead to it! The book certainly had the point, but there was another promising note, which I have to cite here, as it’s quite funny:

By the way, because it’s so isolated, people sometimes travel light to this beach, omitting…

When you’re in Hawaii, you’ll quickly learn the shaka sign, aka “hang loose”, and the perfect place to let it all hang loose is the Little Beach on the southern shore of Maui. The beach is quite small indeed, especially in comparison to the neighboring Big Beach, and it gets pretty crowded on weekends. Nevertheless, it’s easy to find a cozy, somewhat private spot, thanks to the trees and their massive roots that create sort of alcoves at the edge of the beach.

This place has a long hippie history, so the laid-back atmosphere is still prevalent there.

This beach is perfect for snorkeling and body-surfing, and when conditions are right, you could surf there too. I really wanted to surf there naked, just like native Hawaiians did, but unfortunately we didn’t have luck with the waves that day.

This is actually a popular spot for mass tourism thanks to easy access to the view of Iao Needle rock formation, but hardly any visitors go on the trail behind the viewing platform. That’s where it gets only more interesting. Of course, I took off my clothes to enjoy the nice weather – combination of warm humid air and fresh breeze – and feel at home in the lush forest.

The view of the lush forested valley with dark vertical walls of mountains partially hidden in white clouds is exactly what you would imagine when asked to think of ‘magnificent beauty of nature’.

On my very short trip to Maui, I had to be very selective as to what to visit from the wide range of adventures and fun that this island could offer. A rough trail through a bamboo forest with four waterfalls sounded too good to miss out. It’s a short trail (just 1km) that goes along Na’ili’ili-haele stream, but it is rightfully located in the adventures section of “Maui Revealed: the Ultimate Guidebook“, where I first heard about it. I was lucky to find an adventurous couchsurfer in Maui, who knew the island well but not that trail and was up for checking it out. So, we headed there almost straight away after he picked me up from the airport.

There are a few narrow trails that start off Hana highway, and they immediately bring you into a dense bamboo forest.